Without an Alpha to keep them under control, lead and protect them they were useless, dangerous, but useless.

If this had been an Alpha-led pack there was no f**king way he would have been stupid enough to confront a dozen werewolves on a full moon with only his father and his untrained mate. He would have called for the Sentinels stationed two miles away at that bonfire to haul their asses over here. A properly led pack would have him and Izzy ripped apart in minutes and would be doing their damndest to take his father apart.

“I said get back!” he heard his father roar seconds before two large dull gray wolves went sailing through the air, landing on top of the large fire. Chris wasn’t all that surprised when the beasts remained on the fire.

He’d be willing to bet every cent he had that his father’s strike had broken both their necks on impact.

There were a lot of things shifters could recover from and a broken neck was certainly one of them, but it required time and rest. Right now the two shifters were knocked out cold and would have lived if his father hadn’t set them on fire. Fire was one of the things that could kill them.

Instead of trying to drag their companions out of the fire the rest of them moved back, growling viciously as they inched closer to him and Izzy, probably figuring that they were the safer bet. Since it was what Chris wanted he didn’t do anything to stop them. He needed Izzy’s abilities to be triggered and this was the only way that he knew that would work.

He wasn’t too worried about her getting hurt. Between him and his father they’d be able to keep her from any real harm, but she probably wouldn’t be leaving here tonight without a few minor injuries. The idea of his little mate getting hurt didn’t sit well with him, but he knew there was little choice in the matter now. Besides it was part of the job description and she’d heal quickly enough.

Chris chuckled as the “leader” followed him at a low crouch as he stepped away from Izzy, who couldn’t seem to stop shaking. For a moment he felt guilty about bringing her out here with absolutely no warning, but he knew there was no other choice.

Forcing his eyes away from the small terrified woman he focused on the large beast stalking him. He was a large son of a bitch, there was no doubt about that, but he lacked the confidence needed to go up against an enemy of equal strength, which was probably why the bastard liked to deal with little girls, Chris thought with disgust.

A slight shift of the beast’s eyes to his right was the only warning Chris had before two smaller beasts lunged for him. He dropped to his back before either one could reach him and brought his feet up, slamming into the beast closest to him and knocking him into his partner, sending them flying through the air towards the fire, but somehow they managed to miss the fire.

They landed a few feet away and quickly scurried to their feet to make another go at him.

“Goddammit!” He didn’t need this bullshit tonight. His eyes shot over to his father to find the man tossing a beast into the fire as he kicked a large brown wolf trying to take a bite out of his side.

“Chris!” Izzy screamed, drawing his attention as three large beasts, including the leader advanced on her.

“Fucking bastard,” he said, pulling out his gun and shooting the two beasts that were coming back for more in the head, instantly killing them both. He got to his feet and shot the next bastard that made a move in his direction as he ran to Izzy.

As the bastards moved closer she did something that shocked the hell out of him and he probably would never forget as long as he lived. She dropped to the ground and got into the fetal position. Hearing about it and seeing it in action were two totally different things.

He couldn’t f**king believe what he was seeing.

“Get up!” he yelled, stepping back and shooting a brown and grey stripped wolf that came charging towards him, jumping over it before it dropped to the ground.

“No!” Izzy screamed, over the load roars and snarls.

“Get up and do your f**king job!” he snarled, grabbing the beast that was closing in on her by the hind leg and yanking him back so he had a clear shot to the head. He didn’t hesitate in pulling the trigger.

“Go to hell, you jerk!” Izzy yelled, curling tightly into herself.

“Fight back!” he ordered sick of her bullshit as he grabbed another wolf and shot him, but not before the bastard slashed his arm, making him drop the gun and stumble back as intense pain shot through his arm.

The leader flashed him a triumphant smile as he opened his mouth wide and dove for Izzy’s bare neck as his mate coward on the ground.

“No!” he roared, running as fast as he could, but it wasn’t fast enough. Not nearly fast enough.

Chapter 13

She couldn’t look away as the largest wolf she’d ever seen came flying through the air towards her with its jaws wide and its intentions clear. It was going to rip her apart and she was helpless to do anything to stop it.

As she cringed into herself even more she couldn’t take her eyes away from the large wolf or get off her ass and run for her life like she knew she should. She was absolutely frozen on the spot. Even the jerk’s demands for her to get off her ass and fight back, was he serious?, didn’t help. Hell, she barely registered half the things he said as he screamed at her. The only thing going through her mind at the moment was the menacing growl as the beast got closer and closer until she could smell his warm stale breath and she knew she was seconds from getting her throat ripped out.

Her breath caught in her lungs as she felt her heart pound in her chest as the fangs came within inches of her face. She tried to squeeze her eyes shut, but they wouldn’t listen to her. She did not want to see this. A sob escaped her as its hot breath tickled her chin and neck.

“Get the f**k up now!” Chris roared, from somewhere behind her, but not close enough and she knew by the sounds of the snarls and growls coming from behind her that he was busy and wouldn’t get to her in time.

This is it, she thought with a strangled cry as she felt sharp teeth close around her neck. This is how I’m going to die….

Just as she accepted the inevitable the beast was suddenly shoved back away from her, leaving several long cuts on her neck that barely stung more than a paper cut. When she looked up at the man who’d dragged the beast off of her she was surprised and oddly disappointed to discover that it hadn’t been Chris that saved her. It shouldn’t matter who saved her as long as someone had, but for some strange reason it just did.

“You must be out of your f**king mind going after someone in my family,” Ephraim bit out as he dragged the beast back by means of a headlock and…..

Holy shit……

Ephraim’s hand was lodged in the beast’s mouth. It suddenly dawned on her that she should have sustained more damage from its teeth when it was pulled away from her. Apparently, Ephraim had stopped it from clamping down and tearing out a good portion of her throat by lodging his hand in its mouth to stop it from being able to close its jaws around her throat and killing her.

She knew the man was incredibly strong from watching him fight the other wolves not five minutes ago, but the beast in front of them was taller and larger than either man when it was on its hind legs. Surely it was able to overpower the man, she thought as she slowly sat up, pressing a shaky hand to her neck and wincing when she felt the warm liquid running down her neck. Her eyes locked on the struggling beast as it tried to lunge at her and finish the job, but Ephraim thankfully held the beast back.